1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rotary sprinkler heads or liquid spraying nozzles affixed in a wash pen for washing udders and teats of dairy animals such as cows and the like prior to milking.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although there are somewhat similarly structured and functioning sprinkler heads in the prior art compared to the present invention, which is an improved rotary sprinkler head, in the prior art there exists a major durability problem with stationary or affixed-in-place sprinkler heads or spray nozzles used for washing the udders and teats of dairy cows in commercial dairy operations. Most, if not all, sprinkler heads currently used in wash pens are actually designed and manufactured for use as lawn and landscape sprinklers, as opposed to the substantially different and harsher environment of a wash pen of a commercial dairy. A sprinkler head used for washing cow udders in a commercial dairy operation receives many times the use and abuse in a one year period as does a lawn or landscape sprinkler under its designed use. A lawn or landscape sprinkler may last for many years under normal use on a lawn or landscape, only being used for a few hours every couple of days during the dry months of the year. That same lawn sprinkler when used in a commercial dairy which milks the cows two or three times a day, seven days a week, will normally wear to a point of malfunctioning in substantially less than a year. Additionally, sprinkler heads used in wash pens are exposed to agents such as cow manure and urine which are highly corrosive, and this is not the normal environment for lawn and landscape sprinklers. When a rotary sprinkler head becomes significantly corroded or worn, it first begins to malfunction in terms of improperly rotating or in the improper spraying of cleaning solution (water) in the desired direction and in the proper volume, pressure and spray pattern. When a sprinkler malfunctions in a wash pen, it may go unnoticed for a period of time, leading to wasted costly water, and to improperly cleansed udders and teats. The malfunctioning sprinkler will require time to service, and possibly new parts to be installed therein, or a complete replacement thereof, all of which leads to increased operating cost.
Another problem existing in prior art sprinkler heads used for washing udders, is the exterior shape of the sprinkler heads. Wash pen sprinkler heads are normally mounted near the floor, typically between four and ten inches high, and supported by rigid water supply pipes (risers). Normally rows of multiple sprinkler heads are defined, with a row on each opposite side of a path along which the cows walk during the udder and teat washing process, wherein the sprinklers spray the udder from varying directions. Although most dairy cows are fairly cooperative for the process of cleaning and milking, they sometimes kick, and on occasion they trip and fall on sprinklers. When the sprinkler head is shaped with relatively sharp corners and or extending flanges, which is very common in the prior art, and a cow falls on it or kicks it, the sprinkler head can easily cut or otherwise injure the cow. Injuries in dairy cows can lead to a decrease in milk production and to costly medical treatments, both of which are undesirable. Additionally, cows can badly damage sprinkle heads with a single direct kick which delivers all of the impact to the sprinkler, and sharp corners and flanges are not conducive to deflecting the kick, but rather, typically result in all of the kick impact being directly and fully delivered to the sprinkler with the end result being the sprinkler head being damaged or destroyed, and the cow possibly being injured.
Another problem existing in prior art sprinkler heads used for washing udders, is the tendency to clog up in the spray nozzle orifice or to stop rotating. Since normally the sprinkler heads are mounted in close proximity to the cows, and quite low so that the majority of water shoots upward at an angle and strikes the cows in the area of the udder, it is not uncommon for cow manure or falling mud to land on top of a sprinkler head and nozzle, and this causes the majority of prior art sprinkler heads to cease proper functioning immediately, or to continue to function until such time the sprinkler is shut down at the end of the washing cycle, at which time the manure or mud drys and hardens to render the sprinkler inoperable at the beginning of the next wash cycle, usually eight to twelve hours later.
Another problem existing in prior art sprinkler heads used for washing udders, is the delivery of the washing solution in an excessively hard tight stream. High impact tight or solid streams cause a great deal of splashing, and are believed somewhat painful to the cow's udder. Cows do not like water splashed in their face, and consequently, hard tight streams of water which lead to upward splashing into the cow's face causes stress. This stress, and the discomfort of a hard tight stream against the udder leads to the cows becoming less willing to cooperate; to increases in milk let-down time in the milking parlor; to decreased milk production; and to an increase in injurious and damaging kicks in the wash pen, all being undesirable.
A further problem associated with prior art sprinkler heads for washing cow udders, is in the volume of water used, and in the amount of time it takes to properly clean each cow's udder. Water is seldom free of charge, and the more water used per cow, the higher the overall cost, and so it is clearly desirable to achieve properly clean udders and teats as quickly as is possible and with the lowest volume of water being used per cow.
An even further problem associated with prior art sprinkler heads used for washing cow udders, is in the structuring being such that with certain forms of wear in particular areas of the head, such as the sprinkler body for example, there are inadequate provisions for cost effectively repairing the damage; short of replacing the entire sprinkler head or a major and expensive component thereof.
Certainly all prior art sprinkler heads do not have all of the hereinabove mentioned shortcomings associated therewith, however all of them do have one or more of the above serious problems, and most have many of the problems. Therefore, there does exist a significant need for an improved sprinkler head or spray nozzle specifically for use in wash pens of commercial dairies, which overcomes all of the existing shortcomings of the prior art in a single improved sprinkler head.
Of the prior art sprinkler heads of which I am aware, the single most similar head to the present invention is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 1,970,126 issued Aug. 14, 1934 to W. A. Buckner for "Rotary Cam Drive Sprinkler". The Buckner sprinkler head, however, exemplifies many of the hereinabove described shortcomings which become most evident when the Buckner head is used in a commercial wash pen for cleaning udders and teats, as opposed to being used in its designed environment, which is lawns and landscapes. The Buckner head includes flanges injurious to cows, and also rendering the head exposed for destruction with a single kick from a cow. The Buckner sprinkler head is subject to quickly wearing-out with the extensive use associated with commercial dairies, as there are few if any protective structures associated with the relatively expensive components of his sprinkler. Additionally, the Buckner sprinkler includes a generally wide-open body top rendering the head subject to possible instant inoperability upon mud or manure falling therein and lodging against the rotary nozzle within the open cup-like body. The Buckner sprinkler head further includes insufficient attention to being able to quickly and very inexpensively replace parts which are naturally and unavoidably subjected to wear under normal operating conditions. The laterally extending Buckner stem-like nozzle orifices being designed for lawn and landscape watering, output an excessively hard tight stream which is not ideal for use in the washing of cow udders, as it splashes and is painful to the cows, and inefficient at quickly washing, being designed for irrigating not washing, and therefore it adds time to the washing process and thus uses high volumes of water per cow wash.
Although the Buckner sprinkler head exemplifies many major prior art shortcomings in its structure, rendering it a less than ideal commercial wash pen sprinkler head, it does include several structural arrangements which are nearly identical to those used in the present invention, and therefore the Buckner disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 1,970,126 is herein incorporated by reference for both essential and nonessential material. One structure which is common in the Buckner sprinkler head and the present invention, is the rotary cam drive or drive motor. The present invention being a sprinkler head specifically structured for the environment and demands of a commercial dairy wash pen, uses a rotary cam drive motor which is structured nearly identical to that of Buckner's, and is essentially identical in operation and theory for rotating the nozzle and thus orifices of the sprinkler. Another common structural arrangement between the Buckner sprinkler and the present sprinkler is that the rotary cam drive motor is retained within and at the bottom end of a hollow outer body with a vertically movable nozzle extending vertically upward through the center of the body to position the orifices above the top of the body during operation, and retracting the orifices to reside essentially within the body when the sprinkler is not in use. The bottom of the Buckner body, like that of the present invention, also includes a threaded opening for threadably engaging and supporting the sprinkler head on a rigid liquid supply pipe wherein the liquid is brought into the bottom interior of the body to drive the immediately adjacent rotary cam drive motor responsible for rotating the nozzle, and the liquid brought into the bottom interior of the body is also arranged to vertically raise the nozzle and thus orifices to an operable and raised position above the top of the sprinkler body. The Buckner body is however substantially different in several important ways from the sprinkler body of the present invention. Therefore, because of the hereinabove specified commonalities between the Buckner sprinkler and the present sprinkler, as well as other possible commonalities not specifically described, and for the sake of briefness of this disclosure, the Buckner patent has been herein incorporated by reference.